title: Sperm chromatin condensation, DNA integrity, and apoptosis in men with spinal cord injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of cord injury on (1) sperm parameters and (2) DNA chromatin status.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected from men referred to Research and Clinical Center for Infertility, Yazd, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty infertile men with the presence of any level of spinal cord injury (SCI) were compared with 30 healthy donors with definite fertility and normal sperm parameters.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sperm chromatin integrity was assessed using aniline blue (AB), chromomycin A3 (CMA3), toluidine blue (TB), and acridine orange (AO) assays. The rate of apoptotic spermatozoa was evaluated with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) staining.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sperm concentration, motility, and morphology in men with SCI were significantly decreased compared with control group (P < 0.05). In addition, with regard to cytochemical staining and TUNEL test, the rate of reacted spermatozoa was increased significantly in SCI group when compared with the controls (P < 0.05). The majority of AB, TB, AO, and CMA3-reacted spermatozoa were higher than the "cut-off" value in men with SCI, as were the number of apoptotic spermatozoa stained with TUNEL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results showed that SCI disturbs sperm parameters, nuclear maturity, and DNA integrity of spermatozoa. Therefore, the production of spermatozoa with less condensed chromatin and more apoptotic rate increases after cord injury and this may be one possible cause of infertility following SCI.
authors.affiliation: Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali Reza
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Talebi
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Khalili
authors.forename: Serajodin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vahidi
authors.forename: Jalal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ghasemzadeh
authors.forename: Nasim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tabibnejad
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000473:pathology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D004247:DNA